md-to-clip

Convert tldr-pages files and save into the same directories

$ md-to-clip [path/to/page1.md path/to/page2.md ...]

$ md-to-clip --output-directory [path/to/directory] [path/to/page1.md path/to/page2.md ...]

$ md-to-clip --no-file-save <(echo '[page-content]')

$ md-to-clip --special-placeholder-config [path/to/config.yaml] [path/to/page1.md path/to/page2.md ...]

$ md-to-clip --help

$ md-to-clip --version

md-to-clip [OPTIONS] [FILE]

FILE
    The path to the Markdown file to be processed. If this argument is omitted, md-to-clip reads the Markdown content from standard input (stdin).

-h, --help
    Displays a brief usage message and exits, providing information on the command's syntax and available options.

-p, --plain
    Copies the Markdown content to the clipboard as plain, unformatted text, effectively stripping all Markdown syntax and rendering it as raw text.

-H, --html
    Converts the Markdown content to HTML format and copies the resulting HTML to the clipboard. This option typically relies on an external Markdown-to-HTML converter like pandoc.

The md-to-clip command is a utility designed to convert Markdown content into a format suitable for the system clipboard, enabling quick pasting into other applications. It typically reads Markdown from a specified FILE or from standard input (stdin).

The conversion process often involves leveraging external tools such as pandoc for rich text formats (like HTML or RTF) or command-line Markdown renderers like glow or mdcat for plain text. The processed output is then piped to clipboard utilities such as xclip (for X11) or wl-copy (for Wayland). This streamlines workflows, allowing users to easily share formatted text snippets, code, or documentation without manual copying from a viewer.

md-to-clip is often a custom script or a lightweight wrapper around other utilities, rather than a standardized command. Therefore, its exact behavior, available options, and dependencies can vary significantly between different implementations.

It typically requires external Markdown rendering tools (e.g., pandoc, glow) and clipboard utilities (e.g., xclip, wl-copy) to be installed and properly configured in the system's PATH. The ability to paste rich text (like HTML) effectively depends on the target application's capabilities.

To copy Markdown from a file:
md-to-clip my_document.md

To copy Markdown from standard input (e.g., a pipe):
echo '# Hello World' | md-to-clip

To copy Markdown as plain text:
md-to-clip --plain notes.md

To copy Markdown as HTML:
cat README.md | md-to-clip --html

Successful operation of md-to-clip heavily relies on the presence of specific external command-line tools. Common dependencies include:

A Markdown renderer (e.g., pandoc, glow, mdcat) for converting Markdown syntax. The choice of renderer often determines the output format capabilities (plain text, HTML, etc.).

A clipboard utility (e.g., xclip for X11-based desktop environments, or wl-copy for Wayland). These tools are responsible for placing the processed content onto the system clipboard.

The concept behind md-to-clip is not rooted in a single, historically developed command but rather in the Unix philosophy of combining small, specialized tools. As Markdown gained widespread adoption for documentation and communication, the need for seamless integration with system clipboards became apparent. Scripts like md-to-clip emerged as practical solutions, leveraging existing command-line Markdown parsers and clipboard utilities to fill this niche. Its evolution is thus tied to the broader ecosystem of Markdown tooling and desktop environment clipboard management.

pandoc(1), xclip(1), wl-copy(1), glow(1), cat(1)